MILWAUKEE - The Marquette University women's basketball team opens up its 2014-15 season Sunday with an exhibition against Lewis University at the Al McGuire Center at 2 p.m. CT.

First-year head coach Carolyn Kieger will have the opportunity to roll out a young roster that features four freshmen and one redshirt freshman, while returning six players from last year's 22-11 squad.

The Golden Eagles will look to senior guard Arlesia Morse who was a preseason All-BIG EAST selection and is the leading returning scorer after averaging 11.5 points per outing during the 2013-14 campaign. Marquette will also rely on the veteran leadership of senior Apiew Ojulu, who started all 32 games she played in last season and is the team's leading returning rebounder (5.0 rpg in 2013-14).

Senior guard Cristina Bigica also returns with three years of experience for the Golden Eagles. The Bucharest, Romania native has appeared in the 94 of the last 96 games Marquette has played since she joined the team in 2011.

To go along with the returners, four players will make their collegiate debut for the Blue and Gold. Kenisha Bell joins the Golden Eagles after leading Kennedy High School in Bloomington, Minnesota to four consecutive conference championships. In 2014, Bell scored a team high 532 points and advanced to the state championship game.
Tia Elbert will look to put her knack for scoring on display after accumulating 3,501 points in her high school career, which set a school record in both boys and girls basketball. Her best season came as a senior when she average 36.4 points per contest. Another skilled scorer, guard Hannah Grim, will also look to play a role in Marquette's young backcourt. Grim, a 5-8 freshman, recorded a career scoring average of 18.3 points per outing and tallied a school record 1,793 points in her high school career.

The fourth freshman joining Marquette for the 2014-15 campaign is forward Shantelle Valentine. The Ontario, Canada native was named MVP every season of her high school career and was awarded Senior Girls Athlete of the Year in 2014.

After the exhibition game, the Golden Eagles start up the regular season against Green Bay at home on Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. CT. As the women make their way through 2014 portion of the schedule, they will travel to Wake Forest and Duke for two ACC matchups and take on Wisconsin on Dec. 6 in Madison.

BIG EAST play will tip off the day before New Year's Eve as the Xavier Musketeers visit the Al McGuire Center at 7 p.m. CT on Dec. 30.